Mortgage relief: Houses turned into billboards

February 15, 2012

This is interesting idea, however many HOAs have rules against this kind of thing.Are you a struggling homeowner? Check out our Avoiding Foreclosure section for resources and helpful tips that won’t annoy your neighbors (hopefully).

Mortgage relief: Houses turned into billboards

When they saw the house on El Dorado Drive in this Los Angeles suburb being painted a startling orange and green and giant billboards hung on the outside, Scott and Beth Hostetler’s neighbors were initially angry and confused. Some even considered calling the police.

But what they witnessed on Friday was not an offensive redecoration decision by the Hostetlers, but rather the debut of one of the more unusual schemes to arise from the housing crisis. In return for allowing the front of their four-bedroom house to become a garish advertisement, the Hostetlers are getting their nearly $2,000 monthly mortgage paid by the marketing company behind the project, Brainiacs From Mars.